A task force aimed at confronting and reducing violent crime in the Montgomery area has made 1,300 traffic stops, 127 arrests and seized an amount of fentanyl that would kill more than 5,000 people in its first three months of operation, authorities announced Friday.
The Metro Area Crime Suppression Unit, knowns as MACS, was launched June 24 to address a surge in violent crime in and around Montgomery.
MACS is made up of law enforcement officers from ALEA, the Alabama Attorney General’s Office, the Montgomery Police Department, the Montgomery Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
ALEA on Friday released the updated statistics, noting MACS has served 347 arrests warrants ranging from failure to appear to capital murder. The group has recovered 16 stolen vehicles and confiscated 83 guns, 17 of which had machine gun conversion devices commonly known as “switches.”
The large fentanyl seizure took place on Aug. 15. Additional details about that operation were not made public.
“MACS is doing exactly what it was intended to do, which is to provide an immediate and direct impact on the criminal element, who is responsible for the senseless violent crime here in Montgomery,’’ said ALEA’s State Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Inabinett.
“The team’s efforts have resulted in a thousand traffic stops, numerous arrests, significant seizures, and all their actions have demonstrated the unit’s effectiveness in combating crime and enhancing public safety,’’ said ALEA Secretary Hal Taylor.
MACS was created to investigate for prosecution crimes including organized crime, drug conspiracy, robbery, car thefts and gun violations.
“This mission of our partnership is simple—to make Montgomery a safer place to live and work,’’ said Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall. “Citizens living in high crime areas need to see a responsive and robust law enforcement presence and that’s what we aim to give them. The criminal element in Montgomery will soon realize that we aren’t playing around.”
